Fishing rod butt and reel seat assembly

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed towards an improved fishing butt and reel seat assembly and comprises a substantially strong, rigid, one piece rod having a first open end, a second open end and a main length extending therebetween with a hollow interior in communication with both open ends having a substantially constant inner diameter. The rod comprises a stepped construction at least partially defined by two or more of a reel seat portion, an abutment portion, a shank portion, and a gimbal receiving portion, wherein adjacently disposed ones of such components have differently dimensioned outer diameters. The exterior diameter of the abutment section is larger than that of the reel seat portion but smaller than the exterior diameter of the shank portion which is the largest. The invention additionally comprises a gripping sleeve having a first and a second open end and a main length sized to generally correspond the shank portion of the rod and slidably mounted and removably secured thereon, and a gimbal structured to be slidably mounted and secured on the gimbal receiving portion of the rod in abutting engagement with the shank portion and the second end of the gripping sleeve. Finally, the invention additionally comprises an externally threaded zone on the rod and at least one annular hood preferably press fitted onto the abutment section in abutting relation to the shank portion.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application is a continuing patent application of apreviously filed application, namely, Ser. No. 08/870,003, filed on Jun.6, 1997 and set to issue as U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,034 on Jan. 23, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to fishing rods and moreparticularly, to a fishing rod butt and reel seat assembly for use inreceiving and supporting a fishing rod and fishing reel thereon that isspecifically structured to minimize manufacturing costs and assemblytime while providing at the same time, a substantially strong deviceable to withstand the large bending forces, loads, stresses andotherwise heavy duty use to which such devices are often subjected.

2. Description of the Related Art

Most conventional fishing rods used for deep sea sport fishing are madeof three primary sections, namely, an elongate rod blank, a handle orbutt, and a reel seat. Typically, the distal end of the elongate rodblank is intended to be fitted within the handle or butt. The reel seatis commonly secured directly to the butt rather than to the fishing roditself. The end of the butt is frequently in the form of a gimbal havingintersecting notches, and therefore, the distal end of the butt isspecifically configured to be received within a socket permanently butmovably mounted on a “fighting chair” on a boat or even on a “fightingbelt” secured to a fisherman. In the sport of game fishing, strongforces are often encountered, which forces are transmitted through therod to the butt assembly. Many fishing rods are not able to withstandthe tremendous stress associated with deep sea fishing and have atendency to break under the high load conditions inherent in the sport.Given the enormous amount of stress and “bending forces” placed on thebutt assembly, it is imperative that its construction and design beadequate to withstand the aforementioned forces and to maintain acertain amount of structural integrity throughout its life.

Various fishing butt and reel seat assemblies have been designed in thepast to overcome the tendency to break under the high load conditionspresent in the sport of game fishing. Many of the known devices areconstructed from a plurality of intricately machined or interlockingparts in order to increase the structural strength and durability of thefishing butt assembly. A recurring problem however, is that themanufacturing process for such devices is labor intensive and costly. Inan effort to reduce the increased costs associated with such multi-partbutt assemblies, others have designed unitary or one piece fishing buttand reel seat assemblies. Known unitary designs, however, are viewed ashaving problems in terms of their structural integrity and ability toadequately withstand the heavy duty use to which they are exposed.Alternatively, the materials used to construct other known unitaryfishing butt assemblies often hinder the performance of the fisherman orare simply unreliable. For instance, in order to provide a unitaryfishing butt assembly which is sufficiently strong to meet thestructural demands of the sport, some in the art have formed the entirefishing butt structure out of a sturdy, solid metallic material. This,however, results in the device being expensive in that costly metalfinishing is required but also, results in the device being slippery,heavy, cumbersome and only expedient to the fatiguing of the fisherman.In addition, such devices are susceptible to rapid heating and becomingtoo hot to handle, particularly given that most deep sea fishing occursin highly sunny conditions with no shade available. Consequently, manysuch devices utilize insulating materials such as foam, cork or wood toform a gripping surface for the user and to protect the user's handsfrom the heat conductive metals. A problem frequently encountered insuch devices is that the metallic and insulating materials havedifferent thermal expansion coefficients and therefore, expand andcontract at different rates, which has resulted in the cracking andgeneral deterioration of the insulating material.

It would, therefore, be highly advantageous to provide a unitary fishingbutt and reel seat assembly which overcomes the afore-mentioned problemsin the art. Specifically, it would be highly beneficial to provide aunitary fishing butt and reel seat assembly which minimizes the costsand assembly time associated with manufacturing such a device while atthe same time, maintaining the structural integrity of the devicenecessary to withstand the large bending forces and loads which suchdevices are subjected to. Any such unitary fishing butt should berelatively light weight so as facilitate its maneuverability when usedduring fishing and delay the fatigue of the user. It would also behighly beneficial to provide a unitary fishing butt and reel seatassembly which offers an insulative material sleeve which canaccommodate the different thermal expansion rates of the materials usedin the device and further, which can be easily replaced, if desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed towards an improved fishing butt andreel seat assembly designed to address the needs which remain in theart. The fishing butt and reel seat assembly of the present inventioncomprises a substantially strong, rigid, one piece rod having a firstopen end and a second open end and a main length extending therebetween,which is preferably hollow, in open communication with the open ends,and of a circular cross section. The rod of the present inventionpreferably includes both a reel seat portion and a shank portion, andfurther, the exterior diameter of the shank portion is preferably largerthan that of the reel seat portion. The reel seat portion is sized toreceive a fishing reel seat thereon and includes means for securelyreceiving and retaining the fishing reel thereon, which means aremovably mounted on the reel seat portion. Preferably, the reel seatportion includes an abutment section located generally adjacent theshank portion of the rod which is defined by an exterior diameter thatis larger than that of the reel seat portion but smaller than that ofthe shank portion. Preferably, the second end of the shank portionincludes a gimbal receiving portion characterized by a reduced exteriordiameter which is smaller than that of the main length of the shankportion.

In the preferred embodiment, the fishing butt and reel seat assembly ofthe present invention further comprise a gripping sleeve, the grippingsleeve having a first open end, a second open end and a main tubularbody extending therebetween which is sized to generally correspond tothe shank portion of the rod. The gripping sleeve is structured to beslidably mounted on and secured to the shank portion of the rod.Preferably, the gripping sleeve is formed of a substantially rigid, yetlight weight insulative material such as nylon, which has its ownthermal expansion rate but can accommodate a different thermal expansionrate of the one piece rod which makes up the fishing butt and reel seatassembly. Also preferably, the gripping sleeve includes a plurality oflongitudinally disposed ribs formed on an inner wall surface thereof tomaintain the gripping sleeve at a small, spaced apart distance from theouter surface of the one piece rod. Additionally, the fishing butt andreel seat assembly of the present invention further comprises a gimbalstructured to be slidably mounted and secured on the shank portion ofthe rod generally near the second open end, preferably on a gimbalreceiving portion defined thereat, which gimbal is sized to fit inabutting engagement with the second open end of the gripping sleeve.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fishingbutt and reel seat assembly which comprises an integral, one-piece rodor shaft and which further minimizes the materials utilized, assemblytime needed and the overall costs associated with the manufacture ofsuch an assembly.

An advantage of the present invention is that the one piece rod or shaftwhich includes both a reel seat portion and shank portion, both of whichcan be entirely formed by one machine instead of by several machines asis required of fishing butt devices presently known in the art.

A feature of the present invention is that the gripping sleeve can beslidably mounted onto the shank portion of the rod and can be removedand replaced with another gripping sleeve, if desired.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fishingbutt and reel seat assembly which is strong and durable so as towithstand the stress and bending forces encountered during sportfishing.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a fishing buttand reel seat assembly which is sufficiently strong and stress resistantand yet, which will not be heavy, cumbersome nor fatiguing to thefisherman utilizing the invention.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fishing butt andreel seat assembly which is light weight relative to known devices andtherefore, may also be used while trolling or drifting in a boat forfish as well as for deep sea fishing regardless of whether the fishermanis seated in a “fighting chair” or is standing up, with either the rodin a “fighting belt” or in fishing rod holder on the boat.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a fishing buttand reel seat assembly wherein the materials used to construct theinvention will be tolerant of the different rates of thermal expansion.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following more detaileddescription and the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention,reference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the integral, one-piece rod according to thepresent invention which includes both a reel seat portion and a shankportion.

FIG. 2A is a side view of the gripping sleeve according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the gripping sleeve shown in FIG.2-A.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the fishing butt and reel seatassembly of the present invention in assembled form but without either afishing rod blank or a fishing reel.

FIG. 4A is a front view and FIG. 4-B is a side view of one form of themeans for securely receiving and retaining a fishing reel on the reelseat portion of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of the fishing butt and reel seatassembly according to the present invention, in fully assembled formshowing both a fishing rod blank and a fishing reel mounted thereto.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several viewsof the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown throughout FIGS. 1-5, the present invention is directed towardsan improved fishing butt and reel seat assembly, generally indicated as10. The assembly is seen to comprise an elongate rod 20, including areel seat portion 30 and a shank portion 40, a gripping sleeve 50, and agimbal 60. Referring to FIG. 1, the invention more specificallycomprises an elongate, substantially strong, rigid, one piece rod 20which has a first open end 22, a second open end 24, and a main length23 extending between the first and second ends, which is preferablycircular in its cross section. In the preferred embodiment, the rod isformed of a high strength metallic material, such as steel, althoughmost preferably, a high strength but substantially light weight metallicmaterial such as aluminum will be used. Also in the preferredembodiment, the interior of the rod 20 is hollow, in open communicationwith open ends 22 and 24, and has a substantially constant innerdiameter to accommodate the insertion of a fishing rod blank 70 intofirst open end 22 and into the hollow interior of the main length 23.

The rod 20 of the present invention is seen to include a reel seatportion 30 which is structured and sized to receive a fishing reel 80thereon, as illustrated in FIG. 5. The reel seat portion 30 includesretaining means 32 for securely retaining the fishing reel 80 on thereel seat portion 30 in the desired position. In the preferredembodiment, the retaining means 32 comprise in part, a threaded zone 33formed on the outer surface of the first rod end 22, which threaded zoneideally extends from first rod end 22 and onto reel seat portion 30 bygenerally about between one inch to three inches. In this preferredembodiment, the threaded zone 33 interacts with additional retainingmeans, as described below. The reel seat portion 30 of the presentinvention further includes an abutment section 39, the purpose of whichwill become clear from the explanation below. Abutment section 39 ispreferably located generally adjacent to the shank portion 40 of the rod20, and is preferably characterized by a section on the rod length 23which has an enlarged exterior diameter, as best illustrated in FIG. 1.In the most preferred embodiment, the rod is integrally formed into astepped construction at least partially comprising the abutment section39 extending along the rod at generally about one inch in length andhaving an exterior diameter of the preferably larger than that of thereel seat portion 30 and preferably smaller than the exterior diameterof the shank portion 40. Ideally, the enlarged exterior diameter of theabutment section is sized so as to tightly and perhaps permanentlyreceive thereon a lower annular hood, such as 37, by way of a “pressfit”, which will be described more fully below.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, in a preferred embodiment the presentinvention comprises additional retaining means 32 for securely retainingthe fishing reel 80 on the reel seat portion 30 in the desired position.Preferably, the additional retaining means are movable with respect tothe rod 20 and reel seat portion 30 to permit some adjustment so as toaccommodate variously sized fishing reels. In the preferred embodiment,the additional retaining means 32 comprise at least one locking nut 34and at least one annular hood 37. In the most preferred embodimenthowever, there are a pair of locking nuts, 34 and 35, and a pair ofannular hoods, 36 and 37, the latter of which will be discussed first.As shown in FIGS. 4-A and 4-B, each annular hood 36 and 37 comprises aone-piece cylindrical ring which includes a slot 36′ or 37′ configuredto receive a leg 82 or 84 of a conventional fishing reel 80. Toaccomplish assembly of the retaining means, a first annular hood 37 ismounted onto rod end 22 and may be slid downwardly over the reel seatportion 30 and into snug engagement on or over the abutment section 39,to act as a lower hood. Preferably, however, annular hood 37 is sizedand configured to be so tightly fit onto abutment section 39 that it is“press fit” into place and will remain that way perhaps permanently.Second hood 36 is also mounted onto rod end 22 and is slid downwardlyand onto reel seat portion 30 where it may slide freely until a fishingreel 80 is received thereon whereupon, it will function as an upperhood, see FIG. 5. Still referring to FIG. 5, in order to position afishing reel 80 on reel seat portion 30, one leg 84 of the fishing reel80 is placed in a slot 37′ of the first annular hood 37 and the otherleg 82 of the fishing reel 80 is placed in a slot 36′ of the secondannular hood 36. At this point, at least one of the locking nuts, suchas 35, is mounted onto rod end 22 and is threaded in the same downwardlydirection into snug engagement with upper hood 36. Preferably however,and given that the vibration from the boat or even a generator thereonmight loosen the lock nut 35, a second lock nut 34 will also be mountedonto rod end 22 and threaded in the same downwardly direction into snugengagement with first lock nut 35 so as to prevent all movement thereofand to securely maintain the fishing reel 80 on the reel seat portion 30even during the application of enormous stress while being utilized indeep sea fishing.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the stepped construction of the one piece rod20 is more specifically and at least partially defined by the shankportion 40 extending from the abutment section 39, and being greater inlength than reel seat portion 30 due to the fact that the shank portionwill be handled and will act as a lever in fighting a hooked fish. Apreferred feature of the shank portion 40 is that it includes anexterior diameter which is larger than that of the reel seat portion 20,and abutment section 39 of the rod 20 so as to enable a handling of thesubstantial stresses to which it is exposed during deep sea fishing.That is, as best shown in FIG. 1, in a most preferred embodiment, thestepped construction comprises the reel seat portion 30, the abutmentportion 39 and the shank portion 40 respectively having progressivelylarger outer diameters, meaning that the outer diameter of the shankportion 40 is larger than that of the abutment portion 39, which has anouter diameter larger than that of the reel seat portion 30. Inaddition, the thickness of the wall section of rod 20 at shank portion40 is in the preferred embodiment generally about {fraction (93/1000)}'sof an inch to {fraction (100/1000)}'s of an inch so as to offer a shankportion which is substantially stronger than those previously known inthe art. As such, it is thought that the shank portion 40 of the presentinvention is able to withstand strong flexing forces and that it is nolonger necessary for the rod blank 70, see FIG. 5, to extend all the wayinto the shank portion 40. Consequently, a manufacturer of fishing rodsmay utilize a shorter rod blank 70 and reduce production costs. Ifdesired, the shank portion 40 may be left during manufacture with aroughened surface, such as a series of small grooves and ridges thereonor even a scoring thereacross, to further save on manufacturing time andthis feature may actually serve a useful purpose, which will soon becomeclear. From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that theelongate, one piece rod 20, including the reel seat portion 30 and theshank portion 40 can be formed rather easily from a single machineduring the manufacturing process, such as a conventional lathe or aturret lathe. More specifically, the rod 20 as well as the reel seat andshank portions 30 and 40 can easily be formed of and from a singleelongate rod of metallic material having a constant outer diameter so asto yield a rod 20 which has substantially the same inner diameter but anexternal diameter that varies, as described to exist between the reelseat portion 30, the abutment section 39 and the shank portion 40.Consequently, a single lathe or other machine can be used to make therequisite number of passes so as to form same in one set-up. It will beappreciated that since the shank portion 40 is both the longest portionof the rod 20 as well as that which has the largest outer diameter, theexternal diameter of the elongate rod before machining should begenerally about or near to the desired resulting outer diameter for theshank portion 40; this minimizes the amount of machining required toproduce the fishing butt and reel seat assembly 10 of the presentinvention. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize this aseffecting a major reduction in the costs associated with manufacturingsuch devices as less materials are required, less time is necessary, andlittle assembly is required.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the shank portion40 includes a gimbal receiving portion 45, which may also be considereda part of the aforementioned stepped construction. As best shown in FIG.1, the gimbal receiving portion 45 is formed at the second end 24 of theshank portion 40, and ideally, includes an exterior diameter which isreduced or smaller than that of the main length 23 of the shank portion40. In this embodiment, a step 48 is formed at the junction betweenshank portion 40 and gimbal receiving portion 45 which step 48 will actnot only as a stop for the gimbal 65 to be received on gimbal receivingportion 45 but also as a transfer zone for transferring the substantialforces which can be exerted upon the gimbal 60 during fishing to themain length of the rod 23.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the present invention is seen tofurther include a gripping sleeve 50. Gripping sleeve 50, includes afirst end 52, a second end 54 and a main length 55 extending betweenends 52, 54. Gripping sleeve 50 is structured, disposed and configuredto be slidably mounted onto the shank portion 40 into abuttingengagement with the first annular hood 37 as shown in FIG. 3. In thepreferred embodiment, the gripping sleeve 50 is sized to generallycorrespond the length of shank portion 40. In a most preferredembodiment, the gripping sleeve is formed to include a texturedappearance so as to offer a better grip to the fisherman that eventuallyuses the product, even when his hands are wet and/or a bit slimy. Also,given the harsh and straining forces at work on the assembly during deepsea fishing, the gripping sleeve 50 should be securely mounted onto theshank portion 40, and to accomplish this, an adhesive material such as abonding cement or semi-rigid or flexible epoxy is coated onto the shankportion 40, so as to cover or substantially cover the roughened surfacethereof, prior to the mounting of the gripping sleeve 50 onto shankportion 40. To aid with assembly, it is preferred that the inner surfaceof the gripping sleeve walls be formed to taper from wider at the firstend 52 towards the main length thereof 55 and if desired, to second end54. Once the adhesive agent is applied to the shank portion 40 of rod20, and the gripping sleeve 50 is mounted onto first rod end 24, thisfeature will facilitate the sliding passage of the gripping sleeve ontothe rod, with minimal clumping or other undesired moving of the adhesiveagent. Also, it should be pointed out that the internal diameter ofgripping sleeve 50 is formed to be larger than the exterior diameter ofthe shank portion 40, so as to provide some room for the adhesive agentapplied to bond more effectively and in this regard, if the shankportion has been left with a roughened surface such as a series ofridges or grooves, this will further aid the bonding action of theadhesive agent. Also, because the internal diameter of the grippingsleeve 50 is larger than the exterior diameter of the shank portion 40,the space which is occupied by the adhesive agent can further act as acushion between the shank portion of the rod 20 and the gripping sleeve50, to help protect the device despite the rigorous forces to which itis subjected during deep sea fishing. Preferably, the internal diameterof the gripping sleeve 50 will not be significantly larger than theexternal diameter of the shank portion 40, and ideally the differencewill be generally about {fraction (5/1000)}'s to {fraction (10/1000)}'sof an inch. As has been described, most deep sea fishing occurs inhighly sunny conditions with no shade available and therefore, thepresent invention may be exposed to a natural heating element, namelythe sun's rays. Accordingly, the gripping sleeve 50 is preferablyconstructed of an insulative material which will not heat rapidly andwhich will otherwise be comfortable for the user handling same duringsport fishing. In a preferred embodiment, gripping sleeve 50 will beconstructed of a substantially rigid, yet light weight insulativematerial such as nylon or a nylon composition with nylon fillers, whichif desired, could be cut away and off of the shank portion 40 andreplaced by a new gripping sleeve 50. In a more preferred embodiment,the gripping sleeve will be formed by way of a molding process and of aglass filled nylon material of about fifteen (15%) percent. Alsosignificant, the layer of adhesive material between the gripping sleeve50 and the shank portion 40 acts as a cushion to lessen or diminish theheating effect of the sun on the different materials, i.e., the metallicrod 20 and the insulative gripping sleeve 50 which because of theirdifferent rates of thermal expansion and contraction, have been known tocause problems to other prior art devices. From the foregoing, it willbe appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the void whichexists between the inner diameter of the gripping sleeve 50 and theexternal diameter of the shank portion 40, which is almost substantiallyoccupied by adhesive material, protects against and prevents thecracking of the gripping sleeve due to the differing thermal expansionrates of the materials used in the assembly.

In this regard, and as illustrated in FIG. 2-B, in a more preferredembodiment the gripping sleeve 50 of the present invention includes aplurality of longitudinally disposed ribs 56 formed on an inner wallsurface thereof. The plurality of ribs 56 are structured and disposed tocontact the outer surface of the rod 20 when the gripping sleeve 50 ismounted thereto, and thereby, to maintain the main length of thegripping sleeve 50 at a small, spaced-apart distance from the outersurface of the rod 20. In this regard, it is preferable that each one ofthe plurality of ribs 56, which ideally comprise between three to fiveindividual ribs, will extend longitudinally in generally parallelrelation to each other, across the inner surface of main length 55 ofthe gripping sleeve from first end 52 thereof to second end 54 thereof.It is believed by the inventor hereof that the plurality of ribs 56assist with the adhesive bonding of the gripping sleeve 50 to the shankportion 40 of the rod 20 and lessen or diminish the heating effect ofthe sun on the different materials. It is also believed by the inventorhereof that the plurality of ribs help to maintain the gripping sleeve50 in an evenly spaced configuration around the shaft portion 40 of therod 20. That is, that the ribs help to evenly space the gripping sleeveapart from the rod 20 and thereby, to smooth out any uneven edges on theouter surface of the rod. This in turn means that during manufacture,the exterior diameters of the shank and gimbal receiving portions 40, 45of the rod 20 can be formed less perfectly, i.e., the tolerancesnormally required for such machining do not have to be as precise, whichagain, greatly saves in manufacturing time and costs.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 5, the present invention is seen to furtherinclude a gimbal 60. The gimbal 60 of the present invention includes anopen mouth 62 and a skirt portion 64 about an inner bore which ispreferably structured to be slidably mounted and secured on the gimbalreceiving portion 45 of the rod. Preferably, the gimbal 60 is secured tothe rod by way of an adhesive material such as a bonding cement or asemi-rigid or flexible epoxy coated onto the shank portion 40, and morepreferably on a gimbal receiving portion 45 of rod 20, prior to themounting of the gimbal thereon. In this regard, gimbal 60 is ideallyalso constructed of a substantially rigid, yet light weight insulativematerial such as plastic or nylon. In a more preferred embodiment, thegimbal 60 will also be formed by way of a molding process and of a nylonmaterial or nylon composition such as nylon 6 or nylon 66. Also, thegimbal 60 is preferably sized so that when assembled on gimbal receivingportion 45, the open mouth 62 of the gimbal is in abutting engagementwith the shank portion 40 of the rod 20, preferably at step 48, as wellas with the gripping sleeve 50 thereon. In the preferred embodiment, theskirt portion 64 of the gimbal includes a plurality of longitudinallydisposed ribs on the inner circumferential skirt wall as well as asubstantially thickened base pad 65 at the seating wall thereof. Thebase pad 65 is structured and disposed to act as a shock absorber whenthe fishing butt and reel seat assembly are jarred against a hardsurface, as is common during use. Thus, it is contemplated that mostcommonly, the fishing rod blank 70 will extend through the gimbal 60 andabut the thickened base pad 65, as shown in FIG. 5.

From the foregoing, it should now be appreciated that the presentinvention for a fishing rod butt and reel seat assembly significantlyminimizes both the manufacturing costs and assembly time needed to yielda finished product over what has previously been known in the art.Specifically, a single machine or lathe can be used to form the rod 20,even though there are three or four varied external diameters thereon,in the preferred embodiments, all with a substantially constant innerdiameter and means, such as a threaded zone, for securing and retaininga fishing reel thereon. If desired, all portions thereof and preferably,at least the largest portion thereof, namely, the shank portion 40 canbe left during manufacture with a roughened surface, which again savestime and additional machining costs. A lower annular hood, such as 37can quickly be press fitted onto the abutment section 39 and the otherretaining means assembled in place on the reel seat portion 30. Once anadhesive agent is applied to the shank portion 40 of the rod, thegripping sleeve 50 and the gimbal 60, both of which can be formed by amolding process, can then be mounted on the shank portion, to provide afinished device which is substantially strong and able to withstand thelarge bending forces, loads and otherwise heavy duty use to which itwill be subjected during deep sea fishing.

Since many modifications, variations and changes in detail can be madeto the described preferred embodiment of the invention, it is intendedthat all matters in the foregoing description and shown in theaccompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined bythe appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Now that the invention has been described,

What is claimed is:
 1. A fishing butt and reel seat assembly structuredfor use with a fishing reel and a fishing rod blank said assemblycomprising: a) an elongated one piece rod including a first open end anda second open end and a hollow interior extending the length thereofbetween and in communication with said first and second open ends, b)said rod comprising a stepped construction at least partially defined bya shank portion and an abutment section being integrally interconnected,c) a reel seat portion including a retaining assembly mounted on saidreel seat portion, d) a gripping sleeve having a length substantiallycorresponding to said shank portion and secured thereto, said grippingsleeve having a tapered configuration being wider at one end thereof andnarrower along the length thereof, and e) said gripping sleevecomprising an inner wall surface formed to include said taperedconfiguration.
 2. An assembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said steppedconstruction of said rod is further defined by a gimbal receivingportion integrally secured to said shank portion and extending outwardlyfrom one end thereof in opposed relation to said reel seat portion. 3.An assembly as recited in claim 2 wherein said stepped construction isfurther defined by said gimbal receiving portion having a smaller outerdiameter than said shank portion.
 4. An assembly as recited in claim 3further comprising a gimbal secured in overlying, concentricallysurrounding relation to said gimbal receiving portion and in abuttingrelation to a corresponding end of said shank.
 5. An assembly as recitedin claim 2 further comprising a gripping sleeve having an elongatedconfiguration substantially corresponding to said shank portion and ahollow interior, said gripping sleeve secured in surrounding, enclosingrelation to said shank portion.
 6. An assembly as recited in claim 5wherein said sleeve comprises a first open end and a second opened end,said reel seat portion extending outwardly from said first open end ofsaid gripping sleeve and said gimbal receiving portion extendingoutwardly from said second open end of said gripping sleeve.
 7. Anassembly as recited in claim 1 wherein said retaining assembly comprisesa threaded zone on said rod and further includes an annular hood pressfit over and maintained on said abutment section in abutting engagementwith said shank portion.
 8. An assembly as recited in claim 7 whereinsaid annular hood has an inner diameter smaller than said exteriordiameter of said shank portion.
 9. An assembly as recited in claim 1wherein said gripping sleeve comprises a first open end and a secondopen end, said inner wall surface having said tapered configurationcomprising being wider at said first open end and narrower along a mainlength of said inner wall surface towards said second open end.
 10. Afishing butt assembly comprising: a) an elongated one piece rodincluding a first open end and a second open end and a hollow interiorextending the length of said rod between and in communication with saidfirst and second open end thereof, b) said rod comprising a steppedconstruction at least partially defined by a reel seat portion, anabutment section and shank portion integrally interconnected and havingprogressively larger outer diameters, c) a retaining assembly on saidreel seat portion for securely retaining a fishing reel thereon, d) agripping sleeve having a length substantially corresponding to saidshank portion and secured thereto, said gripping sleeve having a taperedconfiguration being wider at one end thereof and narrower along thelength thereof, and e) said gripping sleeve comprising an inner wallsurface formed to include said tapered configuration.
 11. An assembly asrecited in claim 10 wherein said rod further comprises a gimbalreceiving portion integrally secured to said shank portion and extendingoutwardly from one end thereof in opposed relation to said reel seatportion.
 12. An assembly as recited in claim 11 wherein said steppedconstruction is further defined by said gimbal receiving portion havinga smaller outer diameter than said shank portion.
 13. An assembly asrecited in claim 12 further comprising a gimbal secured in overlying,concentrically surrounding relation to said gimbal receiving portion andin abutting relation to a corresponding end of said shank portion. 14.An assembly as recited in claim 10 wherein said retaining assemblyincludes an annular hood press fit over and maintained on said abutmentsection in abutting engagement with said shank portion.
 15. An assemblyas recited in claim 14 wherein said annular hood has an inner diametersmaller than said exterior diameter of said shank portion.
 16. Anassembly as recited in claim 10 wherein said gripping sleeve comprises afirst open end and a second open end, said inner wall surface havingsaid tapered configuration being wider at said first open end of saidgripping sleeve and narrower along a main length of said inner wallsurface towards said second open end of said gripping sleeve.
 17. Afishing butt and reel seat assembly structured for use with a fishingreel and a fishing rod blank said assembly comprising: a) an elongatedone piece rod including a first open end and a second open end and ahollow interior extending the length thereof between and incommunication with said first and second open ends, b) said rodcomprising a stepped construction at least partially defined by a shankportion and an abutment section being integrally interconnected, c) areel seat portion including a retaining assembly mounted on said reelseat portion, d) a gripping sleeve having an elongated configurationsubstantially corresponding to said shank and including a hollowinterior, e) said gripping sleeve comprising a first open end and asecond open end oppositely disposed relative to one another and beingsecured in concentrically surrounding relation to said shank portion,and f) said gripping sleeve including an inner wall surface having atapered configuration being wider at said first open end thereof andnarrower along the length of said gripping sleeve towards said secondopen end thereof, said first and second open ends of said grippingsleeve sized to generally correspond to said shank portion.